


Integrity

by Flutiste



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Frisk you naughty kid, Mages, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Reader remembers resets, References to Undertale Genocide Route, Sans Remembers Resets, Speciesism, Stop playing with time, Tags will be added as story evolves, Undertale Saves and Resets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-05-13
Packaged: 2018-09-26 23:52:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9934415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flutiste/pseuds/Flutiste
Summary: All knew about the story of Mt. Ebott, where mages sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell. But few knew that there was no such thing as an everlasting magic spell. For magic was required to maintain the existence of the barrier, magic taken from all mages and their descendants.This is the story of one of these descendants, resigned to her fate of dying a slow and painful death… until the barrier was broken. In which there is a child playing with time, a woman trying to do more than simply existing, and a skeleton ready to die.Third person POV. Main character is female and has a name, but physical descriptions will be kept at a minimum.





	1. Chapter 1 – The Curse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Undertale nor any of the game characters.

_Long ago, two races ruled over Earth: HUMANS and MONSTERS._  
_One day, war broke out between the two races._  
_After a long battle, the humans were victorious._  
_They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell._

Thus was the legend of the monsters.

When Cornelia was very young, her father used to tell her stories as he tucked her in bed. He told her stories about the stars in the sky and the mermaids in the seas, about the fawns in the woods and the nymphs in the streams, about the fair maidens in their castles and the dragons in the deep. Her father was a writer and a painter, and was able to enchant his young audience with the lands of his imagination.

Sometime her father was too tired or absorbed by his art, and then it was her mother’s turn to tell her stories. She was full of tale about faraway lands and birds of flames, about forbidden love and impossible hope, about treacherous fairies and immortal elves. Her mother was the best kind of lawyer, determined and just, fierce tempered and kind hearted, and she passed on her qualities through her tales.

And then there were the stories told by her grandfather. He told her about LOVE and hope, about war and death, about monsters and mages. His tales were dark and ancient, long forgotten by most. He was her father’s father, a wise but bitter old man.

Cornelia’s grandfather was raised under the shadow of his own father, raised to be something which the world no longer needs. And as he grew up, his every action was controlled by his father. He had no choice in the wife he took, no option in the work he did, and no control over the friends he made. But when his father tried to raise his son in the same way, Cornelia’s grandfather snapped.

No one touched his son, his precious boy.

He did not go to prison for the things he did. No human court would have prosecuted Marcus Preston for patricide, for it was a battle of magic and thus was above the law.

And then he was free, as were his wife and his son, and they lived in relative peace and happiness. But the bitterness never fully went away, and the more he aged the less he spoke.

Until Cornelia was born.

She has always been quiet and patient, even as a child. And her grandfather loved her. He told her dark and ancient stories about the world, taught her obscure and esoteric spells. He passed on his wisdom, his knowledges, his secrets. When he was with Cornelia, he was not bitter.

And then, one by one, they passed away.

First was Cornelia’s grandmother, who passed from sickness. Her life was short for a mage.

Then her grandfather, who let go of his own soul. He could have lived longer, but despite everything he did love his wife, and was eager to follow in her steps.

Finally, it was her parents. It was an accident.

At that time Cornelia was already old enough to accept the inevitability of death. And she was both sad and relieved, for she knew that if there were no accident, then they would die from a long and painful sickness. For all of her blood relatives were mages, and for this reason they were cursed.

A long time ago, war broke out between humans and monsters, and the humans were victorious. Seven mages, combining the magic of their fellow mages, sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell.

But there was no such thing as an everlasting magic spell.

Magic was required to maintain the existence of the barrier, magic taken from all mages and their descendants. In the old days mages used to live long lives, sometime a few millenniums, and could perform miracles. Now days, most lived barely longer than the average human, and could scarcely light a candle. Most of them died the same death, a long and painful illness caused by their link to the barrier. 

Cornelia tried to find a loophole around the curse, but was unsuccessful, and eventually became resigned to her faith.

Until one day, the barrier broke.

She was full of hope, but then something inexplicable happened.

TIME… rewind.


	2. Chapter 2 – The Groundhog Day

Cornelia was sitting on the sofa in her tiny little apartment, half listening to the news while eating some fruits, when she felt the change. It was as if something within her has been snapped, some kind of invisible chain that used to hold her down was now broken.

She felt lighter than a feather.

A few days later, the monsters’ existence was announced to the entire earth. They came out of their prison, the barrier apparently broken by a nine year old child named Frisk. They were surprisingly peaceful, wanting nothing more than to finally be able to see the surface of the earth.

She felt giddy, like a child on Christmas Eve. She was finally free from the unwanted curse of donating her magic to enslave an entire race. She would now be able to actually use her magic for something grander than rainbows in the sky. She thought about all that has been taught to her by her grandfather. She wished that he could have lived to see this day. She wondered how long she would live now.

She felt the urge to move back to her ancestral home in Ebott. She had, after all, grown up hearing stories about the monsters. But she thought that the reverse was probably true too, and they were likely less eager to meet a mage.

And then, TIME rewind.

 

RESET NUMBER ONE

 

It was the strangest of feeling, as if something cold and hard has grabbed her soul and was dragging her back. She felt the outermost layer of her soul cracking, her memory from the last month slightly fuzzy and almost starting to fade.

But she REFUSED.

Her INTERGRITY remained.

And then, she found herself standing in the bathroom, toothbrush in hand.

She looked into the mirror.

**It’s you, Cornelia.**

 

RESET NUMBER FOURTEEN

 

She was lost and confused.

The first few timelines she was aware of were fuzzy. Sometime she was aware of the loop in time, sometime she only had a strong feeling of déjà-vu. The length of the time loops also varied, and the change point difficult to discern. Sometime she went back a few days, sometime only a few hours or even minutes.

It was confusing and scary. No one else except for her remembered it, and Cornelia half feared becoming crazy. Was this some new twist in the curse? A new illness which manifested itself in form of madness?

But eventually she accepted the reality of time loops and could observe a certain pattern to them.

First, the timelines could not go back to a point before The Bathroom Day. Actually, all timelines seems to branch off from that cursed day.

Second, every time that the timeline progressed past The Free Monsters Day, Cornelia’s soul and magic became stronger and she would be able to remember with more clarity the past timelines.

Third, she was positive that all the timelines are tied to events occurring in the Underground.

 

RESET NUMBER TWO HUNDRED NINETY-SEVEN

 

Cornelia called going back to The Bathroom Day a “Full Reset”, and going back to any point after it a “Load”. For some reason, it was simply easier to use video game terms.

She became tired of reliving the same days over and over again, always doing the same work and writing the same research. Luckily she had an eidetic memory, or else she would be constantly lost as to where she was in the timelines.

Nowadays, her first action after a Full Reset is always to take six months of vacation. For some reason, the timelines never last longer than that. And then, she immersed herself in research.

Having a PhD in theoretical magic and mathematics helped, but she had to relearn physics from scratch. Quantum mechanics and string theory were never an interest of hers, but after two or three hundreds resets she had a good enough grasp of both. She also plunged herself into old myths and legends about TIME, even the most farfetched ones.

And then she found the answer.

It was said that human SOULs come in several colors, depending on the most prominent trait found in the human: Patience, Kindness, Bravery, Integrity, Perseverance, Justice, Determination. The last one was the strangest of all, for all humans had a certain level of Determination, which enhanced their individual trait. A human with Patience is Determined to be Patient. A human with Kindness is Determined to be Kind. A human with Determination, well… they are Determined to be Determined.

A long time ago, it was believed that when a Determined human was born with strong magic, they would be able to achieve the impossible.

Such as bending TIME to their will.

Science helped Cornelia understand how timelines worked, but this ancient myth found inside a moldy old book explained the why.

Somewhere out there, someone was playing with TIME.

 

RESET NUMBER ONE THOUSAND AND EIGHTY-THREE

 

Cornelia learnt ASL. French. Latin. Greek. Japanese.

She learnt how to cook. How to paint. How to dance.

She tried to tour the world but was taken back home by a Reset halfway.

Anything to keep the boredom away. To keep herself sane.

She could feel her magic growing stronger with each Reset. The hold that the curse had on her falling weaker with each time loop.

As long as she remained DETERMINED, she felt she would be able to one day free herself from the Resets.

Once again, she found herself in the bathroom, toothbrush in hand.

She looked into the mirror.

**Despite everything, it's still you, Cornelia.**

Knowing that she remained herself despite the circumstances filled her with INTEGRITY.

 

RESET ONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-SEVEN

 

She saw the Void today, and a child stood there, surrounded by shadow.

Their soul was a bright red light in the darkness, and once she saw it Cornelia was left without a doubt that the child was the cause of the Resets.

And then, TIME rewind.

 

RESET ONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY-NINE

 

There has been a lot of RESET and LOAD in a short amount of time recently.

Each time a RESET occurred, Cornelia found herself in the Void, and she grew stronger.

 

RESET ONE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE

 

The curse reached out, once again trying to steal her strength for its own use, but it was weak compared to the strength of her soul.

This time, she was ready.

Once again, she found herself in the Void, and the child stood there, surrounded by shadow.

Dark. Darker. Yet Darker.

Their soul seemed to be the unique source of light in the darkness, a bright red light.

The familiar feeling of being dragged back came, but she REFUSED.

Her soul was unmoved, like the rock that the waves kept crashing over. It stood unmoved and the rage of the sea fell still around it.

Her INTEGRITY remained.

“Child, stop playing with time, or YOU WILL HAVE A BAD TIME WHEN WE NEXT MEET HERE AGAIN.”

Once again, she found herself in the bathroom, toothbrush in hand.


	3. Chapter 3 – The Day of the Monsters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I came back to post the third chapter and was happily surprised to see the kudos and the nice comments you have left. Thanks everyone for your encouragement!
> 
> Knowing that some people enjoyed this story fills me with DETERMINATION.
> 
> Warning: Frisk is a naughty kid in this chapter.

To say that Frisk was scared would be the understatement of the century.

When one was master over TIME, one would become used to knowing everything, and to be truly surprised after such a long time was terribly frightening.

Frisk has RESET countless timelines, and never ever had they encountered anyone in the Void, the place where future, present and past were the one and the same.

 

Frisk has always been too curious for their own good, the main reason why they fell underground.

The first time around they were cautious and scared, and they died a lot before even reaching Snowdin. Frisk has never been much of a fighter, and while they used to just dodge attacks at first, not wanting to hurt anyone, eventually they had to act in self-defence.

Anyway, Frisk had very little incentive to let the other monsters live when the one they truly wanted to spare has already died by their hands.

Toriel… Mom.

Eventually, they were able to cross the barrier, and they discovered that they were given the ability to go back to the very beginning.

To a time when Toriel was still alive.

Frisk actively RESET for the first time.

 

The second time around everything was much easier, and Frisk did not die at all in the ruins. They became good friend with a lot of monsters there, and were able to go pass Toriel without hurting her.

The flower and Sans seemed to have some recollection of the first timeline, but it only disturbed Frisk slightly.

The thought of disappointing Toriel made Frisk unwilling to kill, but they still had to do so when faced with stronger monsters.

Some of the dogs. Undyne. Mettaton. Asgore.

And then, Frisk crossed the barrier all alone, without a friend. And they felt so guilty for killing the dogs, knowing now that they were actually harmless.

They RESET.

 

The third time was easier still, and Frisk tried to befriend and spare the most monsters possible. They still had to kill the relentless killers, Undyne, Mettaton, Asgore... But the others, they spared.

But then Frisk realised that even the most relentless killers had someone who cared about them.

So they RESET

 

Eventually Frisk was able to spare everyone before reaching Asgore, and had to face Flowey. After battling, Flowey suggested that they should be a better friend to Alphys.

They did.

And then they broke the barrier.

This time, Frisk was happy. They were out and surrounded by friends, what more could they ask for? But then, the humans spoiled everything. A lot of protestors went against the monsters, and Frisk did a bad job as their Ambassador, which was not surprising considering they were only eight years old.

A lot of monsters died. Many froggits, some temmies. Aaron. The nice-cream seller.

Alphys.

Frisk RESET.

 

They tried the pacifist run a few more times, hoping that eventually they could find a way to help the monsters interact with humans in a peaceful manner. Frisk was not sure what they did exactly, but with each reset things got better. Eventually the monsters were even allowed to set camp on Mt. Ebott and have the same rights as humans.

Frisk was happy at first. They were finally able to have a real happy ending! But then all their friends eventually had this and that to do, and went on their separate ways.

Frisk was afraid of being alone again, and could feel their power over TIME diminishing. They were still able to save and load short periods of time, but to RESET back to the beginning? To erase weeks and months of time? This power would soon be lost, for this power has never been their own. It was the result of science, magic, and Determination, combined with the particular environment underground created by centuries of magical barrier. Once the barrier has been broken, they would eventually lose their ability to RESET.

What if something bad happened and they couldn’t save their friend?

The thought of losing their friends terrified them.

What if nothing bad happened and no one needed them anymore?

The thought of being all alone again terrified them even more.

Frisk panicked, and RESET.

 

It was another pacifist run, and Frisk took their time to enjoy the Underground this time. They have always been so focused on getting back to the surface before that they have been blind to the beauty surrounding them.

And they had fun, making people react differently depending on what they did or said.

They found out secrets about their friends.

They went to the surface, but RESET soon after.

The surface was not safe for monsters anyway.

 

They broke the barrier multiple times, but RESET just as many times. They wanted to know more about the monsters, about their friends, and were not above snooping around. Each time they tried to act differently, just to see what would happen, and were not disappointed.

They RESET again and again.

 

Eventually they have exhausted all the peaceful options, and their curiosity made them want to FIGHT. What would be the harm anyway, when they could just go back and RESET everything if something went wrong? And of course they would be careful to not really kill anyone, right?

They were entertained by FIGHT for a few dozen timelines, until they eventually learnt all about the strength and weakness of every single monster.

 _Now things are so boring_ , said a little voice in their head.

 

Frisk could not remember the exact moment when they started considering killing.

They have already tried all the ACTs. They have already fought and spared everyone. They have stumbled upon many secrets. Many times Frisk promised to themselves that this is where it stops, this is where it ends. They promised to themselves that it would be the last timeline, only to go back to the very beginning, remembering that they did not do this action or tried that shortcut.

But there were still many secrets to the Underground, which they felt could not be unveiled unless they killed.

So they did.

 _Why not?_ The little voice was louder.

It’s not as if they have never killed before, Frisk reasoned. And of course, what’s the real harm to killing, when they could just RESET to bring everyone back to life? They just needed to satisfy their curiosity, and then they would do a pacifist run again, to have the happy ending.

 

At first Frisk felt uncomfortable seeing their friends die, but eventually they became desensitised to it. Killing everyone in different combination kept Frisk entertained for a long time. It was not as if people remembered anyway, except for Flowey and Sans.

Thinking of the latter always made them feel their sins crawling on their back.

But Sans was not exactly like them. He was not always able to remember the past timelines immediately after a RESET, and even when he did it was with less clarity. 

Frisk has learnt to kill quickly enough so that they could do what they wanted without being confronted by Sans. Not that they were scared by Sans, who was a very weak monster, having only 1 DEF, 1 ATK and 1 HP. No, they only disliked the thought that what they did was wrong.

 

And then, one day, Frisk had an idea.

What would happen if they killed everyone?

They remembered the old Gerson and the prophecy.

_The Angel... The One Who Has Seen The Surface... They will return. And the underground will go empty._

This prophecy had two interpretations: one where the "Angel" destroys the barrier and brings freedom to the monsters, and one where it is an "Angel of Death" that kills everyone in the Underground.

Frisk had already tried to break the barrier, but had never tried to kill everyone in the Underground.

The mere thought of it filled them with dread and excitement.

Killing everyone was time consuming, but strangely amusing at the same time. Everyone reacted much differently to them, and Frisk was having lots of fun. They even had a partner this time, for the little voice had a name.

_Chara._

And then they met someone unexpected in the judgement hall.

And then they died.

A lot.

 

Sans was surprisingly the strongest monster Frisk had ever encountered. They died hundreds of times fighting Sans until they finally gave up. What was the point? Maybe they should just quit and get their happy ending.

Frisk RESET and started another pacifist run. But there was a little voice nagging in the back of their head. Like a little kid denied their favorite treat, being stopped from reaching Asgore in a genocide run made them want to do it even more.

The barrier broke.

They hesitated.

They RESET.

 

Frisk tried to finish a genocide run many times, but was always stopped by Sans. When they were fast enough, they could get to the judgement hall before Sans remembered anything. But when they were slow, they could get killed in Snowdin.

Frisk became good at killing everyone as fast as possible.

At the end of a fast killing spree, even Sans would be predicable, and the fight was easier and easier.

This time they had the feeling that they would get pass the shorter skeleton.

And they did.

But they had this bad feeling…

They finally spoke to King Asgore, and they felt truly satisfied. Maybe this time they would finally be able to keep their promise.

But then they couldn’t control themselves anymore.

Destroy the world?

Frisk never considered this.

They RESET before Chara could act.

 

Whenever Frisk RESET they would find themselves in the Void, that strange place of nothingness in between. They have always thought that they were alone in that place, and maybe they were, once upon a time.

But this time there was someone there with them.

Among the shadows there was a light, the deepest of blue, like the color of a starry sky on cloudless nights. It was a soul, brighter than any soul they have seen before, and bigger than even their own.

It was a human soul, and it spoke to them.

“Child, stop playing with time, or YOU WILL HAVE A BAD TIME WHEN WE NEXT MEET HERE AGAIN.”

Frisk RESET.

They found themselves in the underground, shivering with fear.

For some reason, Frisk knew that the voice would keep their promise, and that this time would truly be the last time they would be able to RESET.

Despite the nagging voice, Frisk did a pacifist run this time,

 

Cornelia was going over some of her latest research in her tiny little apartment, half listening to the news while eating some fruits, when she felt the change.

The barrier was broken.

Despite not being influenced by the curse anymore, her soul still was somewhat connected to the barrier throughout timelines. Once again she felt the link disappear completely. The barrier was broken, and hopefully for good this time.

A few days later, the monsters’ existence was announced to the entire earth. A week passed, and then another, and then a month. It seemed that whomever that was responsible for the RESETs had stopped for good.

Cornelia was… content. She was finally able to progress with her life. She ended her vacation, submitted some of her research, and went back to work.

She would not admit that she wanted to go back to Ebott, to meet the monsters.

No monster would want to see a Preston anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually I do not think that Frisk is evil in the context of the game. Canonically, I believe that the Player is the one who is truly evil. I like to think that Frisk is a cute little pacifist and Chara a confused child with the capacity to become either an angel or a demon, depending on the Player's intention. However, in this story the Player does not exist. So I was thinking, why would a preteen wants to kill their friends? Thus this chapter.
> 
> BTW, I always thought that Frisk was a girl while playing Undertale, since I am a girl, until I realized that their gender was never explicitly mentioned in the game... haha. So I will keep their gender ambiguous in this story as well. You can believe what you want.


	4. Chapter 4 – The Greenshire Fort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please know that all of your comments made ~~a snowman~~ this author really happy.

Cornelia has always enjoyed weekends, and being single, this meant that most of the time she could sleep as long as she wanted. However, there was someone very insistent calling her this morning, and she groaned when she saw that is was only 7 am.

“What do you want Greg?” She tried to hide her annoyance, but failed.

“A favor.” Greg sounded tired on the other side, as if he hasn’t slept at all in the past few days. “I’m sorry I called you so early, Cora, but I really need your help.”

Cornelia rubbed her temple and sigh. Ebott city’s current mayor Gregory Smith was one of her only childhood friend, and has never asked any favor of hers to this day. He was too proud to do so, and did not want to make her think that he was only friend with her because of her family name.

So this must be something really important.

“Go on, I’m listening.” She tried to be more alert for her friend’s sake, but it was hard. 7 am was way too early for her body to want to respond.

“I’m sure you have heard about the news of monsters coming out from mount Ebott...” He started hesitantly.

“Of course, it was a month ago.” She rolled her eyes lazily.

“They’re trying to reintegrate society, but the negotiations haven’t been going well.” Greg admitted with a sigh. “They seem peaceful, for sure, but both sides are being very cautious right now. Things are happening too slowly, and I’m afraid it’s gonna end badly.”

“How so?” She asked when it became obvious that he wasn’t going to elaborate. She was awake now, unpleasantly so.

“Well, they have been trapped in the Underground for a long time, yeah? And all they wished for was to come to the surface. But now, even though the barrier has been broken, most of them still have to stay down there. Tensions are currently high among the monsters from what I’ve heard. If things continue this way… there might be a riot.”

This was not the first time she heard about tension among the monsters or between humans and monsters, but she did not realise it was this bad before. And never before had she received a call from Greg, even though the longest timeline before this one lasted close to four months. What changed?

“Oh.” Cornelia frowned. “Are they being quarantined or something?”

“Not really. It’s just that… when I said that things are going slowly, I really meant slowly.” 

She did not understand.

“Their status as a ‘person’ is currently still unclear in the eyes of the law, so if they got into a fight with a human, a human could theoretically kill them without legal consequences.” Cornelia could hear Greg swallowing, and instantly knew that there was nothing theoretical to this story. “And if the monster fights back, they could also theoretically be considered as a dangerous animal and be put down. Also, since they aren’t considered as person, they can’t legally own property… not that people would sell them anything.”

She was not an emotional person, but this made her so angry that she was speechless. Her silence was however taken the wrong way by her friend.

“Please Cornelia, you are my last hope. Maybe even the monsters’ last hope.” Greg sounded desperate.

Gee, that was dramatic. He even used her real name instead of just Cora.

“What can I do for you?” Cornelia regretfully rolled out of her bed. Coffee sounded like a wonderful idea right now.

“I don’t know. You were always the smart one… Anything would be good.”

“Give me a second.” Cornelia sighed. She could already feel the start of a headache. There was nothing she could do about human’s natural wariness toward change and she had no power to stop bigotry. But she did have money, and influences, and connections.

She made a cup of horrible tasting instant coffee, and sat down to think.

“How many monsters are there in the Underground?” she asked.

“Not sure. According to the King, about half a million.”

That was more than Cornelia initially expected, but when she thought about it, the number made sense. They were talking about the population of an entire race after all. She was more surprised that there were not more monsters, but then she suspected that this was due to the possibly limited space in the Underground.

“Have you ever heard of the Greenshire Fort?” She felt strange saying these words. It was as if she had already done this in the past.

Maybe she did. Her memories of the first few RESETs were blurry at best.

“That castle beyond Little Ebott, with that ghost town? Yeah, some people say it’s haunted.” Greg was confused by this sudden change of subject.

“The castle and the ghost town, and the abandoned fields, and a big chunk of the surrounding area, belong to my family.” Cornelia was a bit uncomfortable. She had never told anyone this before, because, well…

“That’s… that’s almost bigger than the superficies of Ebott city!” An incredulous exclamation was made on the other side of the phone after a long moment of stunned silence.

Because most people knew that the Prestons were wealthy, but had no idea about the extent of it, and she preferred to keep it that way.

“We are an old family that only marries with other old families, and we have less and less descendants over time. Wealth tends to accumulate through inheritance.” She explained. “The castle and the surrounding land used to belong to the Murphys, and their last descendant was my great-great-grandmother.”

She cleared her throat.

“Anyway, I am telling you this not because I want to show off my wealth. What I am trying to say is that the monsters have my permission to build and use that land. The castle is still in good condition but the town is in pretty bad shape so they have to build just about everything from scratch. And I can have someone drop off food and supplies if they need it, just give me a list.” Cornelia drummed her fingers on the table, trying to think about what else they may need. “Oh, and I think you should find the King some human assistance if you haven’t done so already. A lawyer that specialises in human right and a PR team would be a good start. I can pay for their expenses… And I will come back to Ebott. The Archmage supporting the monsters should put some pressure on the government.”

There was more silence, and then what sounded suspiciously like a sob.

“Thank you! Thank you so much Cora… you don’t know how much this mean to me.” The muffled sound of sneezing could be heard. “My sister’s child… Frisk… They were the one who freed the monsters, and… anyway… thank you.”

Ah, that explained it. Greg’s heavy involvement with the monsters’ affair finally made sense. Cornelia had never met that child, but she knew that Greg has been spoiling them silly ever since their parents passed away.

“Don’t thank me, Greg. I was just doing what a decent person would do.” she chuckled at his words. “Just… don’t let the monsters know that I was the one that gave them the land, ok?”

She did not feel that she owned anything to the monsters, even though her ancestors were among the seven mages that sealed the monsters underground. The reason behind the war has become lost over time, and she would not allow people to make her feel guilty for something that her ancestors may or may not have done wrong. However, she knew that people could be stupidly proud sometime, to their disadvantage. She did not want the monsters to refuse help just because of the history between them.

Greg was confused by her request, but agreed.

Once they have said their goodbyes, Cornelia slummed into her chair, fighting her headache. Guess she was going home after all.

 

Moving back to Ebott was faster than she thought. It was easy to quit her current job, since she was not teaching this semester and was only doing research. Moving all her stuff seemed overrated, since she already had perfectly functional furniture back at Ebott, so she ended up simply giving most of her possession to her neighbours or local charities. The hardest thing to do was selling her apartment, but an agent would be able to take care of it. 

In the end, moving back took barely a month.

And now she was back to her ancestral home.

It was a huge thing, practically a manor on the outskirt of Ebott city, surrounded by fields and forests. She secretly loved how dramatic it looked, but it was impractical and not much like a home, now that she was alone. With her family gone, it now felt too big for her, much too quiet, almost like a grave.

“Home sweet home,” she said, and was greeted by an echo.

The furniture was covered by drapes, under a layer of dust. She despaired about cleaning for an instant, for there are somethings that even magic cannot do, such as dusting. Or couldn’t she…?

Cornelia suddenly remembered that she was much more powerful than before, and had an epiphany.

At the end of the day she fell on her bed, exhausted, but the house was clean. She was confronted by the silence of her house.

She hated it.

 

The next days she occupied herself with finding a new job and grocery shopping. A teaching position was opened in the Department of Mathematics at Ebott University, and she applied for it. She also applied to the position in the Department of Philosophies. And to the one in Theoretical Magic. However, since she did not technically needed to work to survive, and still had a job as an independent consultant, eventually Cornelia got bored of writing CV and was left with nothing to do.

And no excuse to not satisfy her curiosity regarding the monsters.

Her mansion was actually situated not very far from the Greenshire Fort, as they were originally designed to be built near each other. She picked up some casual clothing, a t-shirt and jeans, and tied her hair into a simple ponytail. She tried to make herself as unnoticeable as possible, and went into her car.

Both her mansion and the castle were hidden in the forest between Mt. Ebott and the city, beyond the suburb and Little Ebott. The sun was setting, coloring the trees in shades of green. A few minutes’ drive later the road became a gravel path and she was confronted by the view of wood fences behind a large area of muddied grass that served as a parking lot.

Military vehicles and camera vans were scattered there with civilian cars. And in front of the entrance to the fenced area, was a mixed match crowd of people. Military personnel guarding the area, relentless reporters, and curious civilians contributed to the chaos at the entrance to the fenced area. A huge sign was hang above it, proudly displaying the name of “New New Home”.

Cornelia parked her car and pushed herself in front of the entrance. Two armored monsters guarded it, one with bunny ears and the other with bat-like ears. Between them was a desk, and a gigantic eyeball was seated behind it. A small line of humans were accumulated in line, curious civilians that had obtained visitor permits after a thorough background check.

_Oh wow. The stories were real._

She took out her own visitor permit and filled the required paperwork once it was her turn. Technically she could access the area without it, as she still owned the land, but she was aiming to be unnoticeable.

Entering the fenced area, the first thing she noticed was the number of tents. The monsters have cut down some trees, and now the area surrounding the ghost town was covered in tents of different colors and temporary constructions. All kind of monsters roamed around, some taller than her and some very small. The all seemed to be happy, cheerful chatter and wonderful food smell invading her senses.

Cornelia’s eyes sparkled with interest as she watched the monsters roaming around her. They were all so different from each other, some more humanoid in shape and others looking more like plants or animals or even just things. Despite the physical difference, all of them however had the same degree of sentiency. This much she had gathered when she walked by a rock looking monster that was playing on his phone. How could they use the touchscreen anyway?

The humans before her dispersed, losing themselves into this curious temporary camp. Cornelia alone walked forward, toward where she knew the ghost town would be.

She did not recognize it at first. All the houses have been repaired, some expanded. Lights came out from the windows, joyful conversations and children’s laughter filling the streets. A few bunnies like monsters ran past her, all children wearing stripped shirts. They shouted excuses for running in the crowd in what seemed to be a game of tag, but no one really minded being bumped into. The town was alive.

An inviting smell came out from a local pub that seemed to be quite the popular place for monsters. This awoke a sudden hunger in her stomach, reminded Cornelia that she had been eating nothing but cereal and fruits in the past few days, being not motivated enough to cook for herself. She has always been more of a healthy eater, but she would not say no to some burgers and fries.

Cornelia opened the door and invited herself inside. It was warm and packed with monsters, idle chatter covering the upbeat background music. It looked well-furnished for a place that has been abandoned for decade only weeks before. The sides of the pub were lined with booths, and in between there were some tables crowded with monsters. The floorboard below shined with new polish, the tables and chairs had a rustic look to them but were well cared for. Everything looked lively and welcoming.

She walked over to the bar, and was mesmerised the instant she laid her eyes on the bartender, who was a tall, well-built fire elemental in a tightly-cut vest. The flames on his head gently shifted between rising high and burning low, not burning wildly like a campfire, but more alike to the flames of a fireplace.

It was… beautiful.

Feeling her staring, the fire monster looked over at her. He did not open his mouth, but she could feel his discomfort and that he was wondering what she wanted to order.

“What do you have here?” She asked nonchalantly, as if she wasn’t secretly embarrassed by her own action a few seconds prior.

He slides the menu over to her, and she read it intently. The front side mostly figured different styles of burgers and fries, and on the back there was an extensive list of alcoholic drinks. Eventually she decided on a traditional burger with fries, and ordered a cup of monster cocktail.

The fire monster took her order, leaving her back to her observation. The clientele here mostly consisted of monsters, but she could see a few humans in one of the booth, chatting excitingly with some dog monsters. In the center of the pub there was a particularly huge gathering of monsters, and laughter was rolling off them in waves. The most animated of them was a short skeleton monster that had strange white lights in place of eyes and an easy grin. He seemed to be the soul of the party, bringing more laughter each time he opened his mouth.

“Ah, Sss-san-sssansy is here,” slurred a drunken looking rabbit monster beside her. “He’s quite the-hic-the _pun_ ny guy, isn’t he?” She appeared to be laughing at some inside joke. “I sh-should go say hello.”

Cornelia watched her walk away, wondering about how a single guy could have so many friends. She certainly did not, and did not care to, have so many friends. The fire monster came back with her order in the meantime, and Cornelia took a sip of her cocktail. It was… surprisingly good. She could feel a small amount of magic in the alcohol, and her own magic rolled inside her, comforted by the warmth of the fire magic. The burger was also excellent, and the fries even better.

She thought that she would be coming often. It was closer than any restaurant in Ebott city, in any case.

When the elemental came again, she complimented him on the drink, and asked for his suggestion on another. He seemed interested in the effect of monster alcohol on human, and gave her a selection of his bestselling cocktail. She drank them all, and gave her opinion on each. They chatted at the bar, and she found out that he was named Grillby. In fact, the pub was named after himself. Grillby was interested in humans and Cornelia in monsters. She shared a lot and talked much more than she usually did, and from that alone she could see how he made a wonderful bartender.

Eventually the pub emptied, and Cornelia was left with a few others, trying to wait long enough for her blood alcohol concentration to decrease below the legal level.

Only now did she noticed that the crowd from earlier has dispersed, but the skeleton remained. He has moved to the bar at some point, and was drinking shots with a lazy grin. He was wearing an unzipped blue hoodie over a novelty T-shirt, a pair of black shorts with white stripes, and sneakers.

That much alcohol wouldn’t possibly be good for him, Cornelia thought. But who was she to lecture a total stranger?

Eventually she felt ready to go home, and thanked Grillby with a heavy tip.

She slept better than she had in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... but will Frisk truly stop RESETing the world?


	5. Chapter 5 – The Young Adventurer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frisk...  
> So this is the happy ending we worked toward for?  
> How disappointing.  
> This world truly is wretched.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank everyone who decided to read this, to everyone who left kudos, bookmarked and commented.  
> Having such wonderful readers fills me with DETERMINATION.

_Long ago, before our days,_  
_Lived monsters on earth they say._  
_Above the ground, below the sun,_  
_With the humans all around._

_Yet one day, without a sound,_  
_The peace between us was undone._  
_For an age, war was waged,_  
_Humans won and a barrier raised._

_Forced below, we went down,_  
_Deeper and deeper in the underground._  
_Goodbye the moon, goodbye the sun,_  
_Goodbye the stars and farewell my love._

_Children, children, listen to me,_  
_Wary of humans you shall be._  
_They lie and steal, destroy and kill,_  
_Souls they crush and dust they eat._

 

Monster Kid has always been a curious child, despite having no arms. He always got into troubles, troubles he was looking for, because of his curiosity. His parents worried about him, constantly, and with good reason.

Monster Kid knew that his parents worried, and that the worried because they loved him, but still felt the urge to explore.

School has been cancelled ever since they came back to the surface. Everyone was busy building and moving, so no one was left to teach. And all the kids were busy helping too, so there was no one left to play with, except for the babies. Monster Kid could not help much physically due to his disability and was given the glorious task of babysitting. He did not mind doing it. He wanted to be useful.

But he did not want to do it every single day.

Eventually the other caretakers noticed his agitation, and his schedule now had two days off per week.

On these days Monster Kid would usually find some friends to play with, or go bother his hero Papyrus. However there came a day when none of his friends were free and Papyrus was nowhere to be seen, so he was left alone.

Walking alone on the streets, Monster Kid’s thoughts turned to the mansion beyond the forest, in the direction of the city. Who lived there he wondered? He has asked visiting humans before, and they told him that a mage lived there.

The mage’s name was Preston, and was the last of their line. They were some kind of local celebrity, for they were also the most powerful mage of this time. Few knew what they looked like exactly, or what they were capable of, for they were a recluse, but many whispered about the mysterious things that happened around the manor. Like how it rained there even on sunny days, or how there were shadows of more than one person in the house at night, even though only the mage themselves lived there.

Monster Kid was sceptical. Did a mage really live there? But they were awful humans, according to what the teachers taught him. Surely a mage wouldn’t just let monsters build houses and grow crops near their home. The visiting humans were probably just messing with him. Adults liked to do that kind of things, some time. Telling children lies to see their reactions.

But Monster Kid was curious, and had nothing else to do.

So he decided to go visit the manor. And when he came back, he would tell all of his friends about how brave he was and how there were no mages living there.

 

Cornelia has once again fallen into a comfortable routine. She would work four days per week, mostly on her own projects or on the consulting projects from her clients. After that, she would spend at least one day doing nothing at all. The remaining time she would either do nothing or more independent studies.

Greg was currently busy with political things, so they could not find the time to meet and just hang out. He tried to keep her updated about all things monsters, since things has been moving a bit faster ever since she showed her support, and Cornelia appreciated his efforts. She tried to support him in any way she could, but she was not a politician at heart and could only offer her monetary support. Her other friends are all busy as well, so Cornelia was left with once again a lot of free time on her hands.

She visited New New Home almost every day, just because she did not have anything else to do. Grillby now knew her favorite drinks, and she has already tried half of his food menu. That popular skeleton guy was apparently there even more often than she was, for he was always present whenever she went to Grillby’s. Sometime she could almost believe that he lived there. He seemed to have an endless supply of jokes and funny tales as well, entertaining the same crowd each night without them ever becoming bored. However, despite his smile, she could feel that there was something extremely wrong about him, so deeply wrong that she felt it from across the room. She was curious of course, but as per usual would not initiate a conversation with a stranger. Monsters were hesitant to communicate with her anyway, so she just sat there and observe.

Unbeknown to Cornelia, Sans has been observing her in return. There had been a number of humans visiting New New Home, but none as zealous as she. He could not fathom her reason for her visits though. She did not seem to be particularly interested in finding out secrets about monsters and seemed content to simply sit at Gillby’s, enjoying a drink or two. She was likely just some lonely human, he thought, but he still felt that there was something wrong about her. He could not see her soul properly, and it bothered him.

 

The adventure started excitingly. For security reasons, New New Home was a fenced area and the only way out was the entrance. However, Monster Kid as a child did not have the permission to just go out and play, so he had to get out in another way. Luckily he knew of a small hole beneath the fences, firstly dug by a rabbit, which eventually became the entrance for bigger wild animals searching for foods.

Getting through the hole took some time, but eventually Monster Kid was able to squeeze himself out of it.

And then things got boring.

There was some wood between the manor and New New Home, but nothing too dense, so Monster Kid was able to orient himself without too many difficulties. But then it was just walking, and boy that was the most boring walk he had ever done. At least he had Frisk’s company when he used to stalk Undyne.

Eventually Monster Kid finally arrived at his destination.

The mage’s manor.

The manor was huge, having four floors in total, including the basement, and was easily as large as the school Monster Kid went to. Its walls were partially covered by vines, and it was surrounded by a garden of flowers, gone wild from years of lack of care.

It looked forbidding and mysterious.

Maybe there was some truth to what the humans told him after all, Monster Kid thought with apprehension. He did not even know where to start looking. Did one human really needed this much space to live? He wondered while walking across the perimeter, looking for any activity in the manor. The Greenshire Fort, now the King’s castle, was currently housing all monster families with children, until actual houses were being constructed within the fenced area.

He remembered some humans mentioning how mages were strange creatures, even for humans. How the mage likely did horrific experiments in their home but how no one dared to confront them. How curious teenagers have heard bone-chilling screams of terror coming from the manor.

Maybe it was not such a great idea to come here alone after all.

However, Monster Kid’s steps did not falter. He had come this far to see the mage, he wasn’t going to abandon now.

Finally, he found them.

The only human within the house was a woman that looked much younger than he expected, sprawled across a sofa, watching TV. It all felt very anti-climactic. He watched her until it was time to go home. Was this human really a mage? This was not what he has expected.

He was not sure what he has expected.

It became an obsession for Monster Kid. Every time he was free he would sneak over to the woman’s house and spy on her, hoping to catch a glance of human magic. He wanted to see her magic, so he would know that she was indeed a mage. But the woman was terribly boring. She worked in front of a computer a lot of time, or would be in the basement, where Monster Kid couldn’t see her.

Was she even a mage?

He will confront her today, he told himself one day while making the now familiar trip. He will confront her today and ask her if she was a mage.

 

Today was one of Cornelia’s self-appointed day-off, and she planned to enjoy it with a rerun of the Lord of the Rings. She has recently acquired the extended version of the movies, and was curious to see the changes.

Popcorn? Check. Drinks? Check. Chips? Check. Chicken wings? Check. Fluffy blanket? Check. TV remote? Check.

She was ready for a wonderfully relaxing day.

Cornelia was quietly enjoying the beautiful sceneries of the Middle Earth when she felt the presence of souls on her estate. One of them was familiar; she had felt their presence a few times since she moved back to the manor. At first she thought that it was once again curious teenagers from Ebott, looking for some excitement in the mage’s manor. But after a while, she realised that it was a monster. They came a few times per week, but always stayed in a distance, so Cornelia left them be.

But the others… they were new.

Two of them were monsters too, she could tell, but the rest seemed to be humans. And hostile.

Surely the monsters could handle themselves, right? Cornelia frowned. She had a rule of not intervening into people’s affair, and she was comfortable, sitting there on her sofa, surrounded by junk food and prepared for a day of laziness. She did not feel like getting up.

_Their status as a ‘person’ is currently still unclear in the eyes of the law, so if they got into a fight with a human, a human could theoretically kill them without legal consequences…_

They were hardly defenseless, Cornelia argued with herself. They have magic. She knew what magic could do, when used efficiently. It could be faster than any gun, stronger than any shield. The monsters did not need her help.

_…if the monster fights back, they could theoretically be considered as a dangerous animal and be put down._

Cornelia cursed. She stood, annoyed, and walked toward the location of the souls. She would make sure that whoever causing trouble will learn to never trespass again.

 

Monster Kid did not expect to be caught.

The spider twins, Lyanne and Liam, have been watching their friend disappear for some time now. They worried about him. When they came to the surface, Monster Kid would hang out with them and their friends all the time. However, after a few weeks, he did not come anymore. They were initially worried that it was because Monster Kid was angry with them for some reason. They liked pranks, and knew that sometime they overstepped their boundaries without noticing, so they wanted to apologize if that was the case.

That’s when they noticed that Monster Kid was leaving New New Home. Lyanne wanted to follow him, of course, but Liam was afraid of the consequences. In the end they waited the whole day nervously, hoping to see Monster Kid come back. Which eventually he did.

Lyanne was not pleased at all and yelled at him a lot, more out of fear than anger. Liam was quieter, but Monster Kid felt it was worse because Liam was very good with giving people disappointed looks. They both wanted to know where he went, of course, and Monster Kid just couldn’t tell them. He has not yet proven that the woman in the manor was a mage, and did not want to look stupid in front of his friends.

The spider twins tried to stop him from leaving New New Home after that. Even Lyanne, bold as she was, knew that it was dangerous to leave the fenced area. However Monster Kid would not listen, his curiosity too great.

As they once again watched their friend leaves the safety of their home, Lyanne and Liam decided to find out his secret.

It was not the best idea.

Getting across the fences took some time, as the hole in the ground was barely big enough, but finally the spider twins crossed over. Monster Kid has already been gone for a few minutes by the time they both crawled out, and they had to follow the barely visible footprints on the ground. They almost got lost in the wood at first, having no idea about the destination. But eventually they realized that Monster Kid was marching toward the mage’s manor.

It was a bad idea.

But Monster Kid was their friend, and it was too late to ask for help.

They walked in silence for nearly an hour, with only a few footprints from time to time to confirm that they were one the correct track. Suddenly, Liam stopped his sister with a movement of his hand. He could hear yelling, not far from where they were. Lyanna approached the source of the yelling silently, to the horrific sight of humans beating up their friends. From the t-shirts they were wearing, they seemed to be part of an anti-monster group walking to New New Home for a protest, and it was a pleasant surprise for them to find a weak little monster in the wood.

“Ya know, I’ve heard that those things turn to dust when they die. Wanna try?” The oldest of them smiled a cruel smile.

Lyanna saw red.


	6. Chapter 6 – In Which the Illusion of Safety is Shattered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which some people had a bad time and Frisk is a naughty child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I ever mentioned that no one is proofreading this fic so there's probably tones of mistakes? If you see something that cannot be unseen, please let me know and I will make the corrections.

Cornelia has always been able to hear people’s thoughts as long as she could remember. When she was a child she thought that everyone could do that, and since she was a quiet child anyway, her power remained undetected until one day her grandfather noticed her replying to his questions without him voicing them. Eventually she was able to distinguish actual spoken words from thoughts, which were usually more like disorganised murmurs. She was even able to tune them out eventually.

This was why she has always had low expectation regarding humans in general, why their depravity rarely shocked her, why she was not even surprised to see that the commotion in the forest was about some adults attacking kids.

This said a lot about humanity.

“Animals like you should not get rights like humans!” yelled one of the oldest of the protesters as he kicked one of the children in the stomach, a lizard looking boy without arms. The man’s soul was a dull yellow, justice turned to wrath from years of blaming others for his own failures.

One of the kids fought back, a spider looking girl, using all of her six arms and biting her attackers in rage. From where she stood, Cornelia could see that she was protecting another boy that looked very much like her, likely a sibling.

“I don’t wanna have things like you in school with ma kids!” This one was a muddy green, a soul of kindness turned to gluttony from years of self-indulgence. He was dressed in comfortable clothing, his stomach so prominent that Cornelia doubted that he could see his own two feet. His eyes were bloodshot from too much alcohol and too little sleep, his breath putrid from bad diet and cigarettes. His true reason for going to the protest was his fear of losing his job to a monster, but he hid behind his children as an excuse.

“Please, just let us go…” implored the spider looking boy, the only one able to do so. His pleading was lost in the excitement of the crowd, all of them yelling and eager to give each other more ideas for cruelty.

“We could cut them a bit, see if they have any blood. Or maybe they would just bleed dust?” A young woman suggested with an unpleasant smile, distorting her delicate features. Her soul was a bright orange, reckless bravery used not to help but to hurt and boast.

Cornelia stepped out from the shadows.

“I don’t think you will be trying anything anytime soon.” She said coldly. The monsters children looked up in hope upon hearing her voice, but were disappointed to see that she was alone and human.

The man with the yellow soul stopped and turned to look at her. He relaxed upon seeing that it was a young woman dressed in casual wear. She was maybe taller than average, but did not seem to be particularly athletic. She had no weapons and was alone.

A goody two-shoes, he scoffed internally. Luckily she was pretty, and he has always been a sucker for a pretty face.

“Babe, what are ya doing here, alone in the wood?” He smiled a crooked smile. “Get outta here alright? This don’t concern ya.”

Cornelia continued marching toward the humans, her magic flaying up around her like invisible gusts of wind. She hated to use violence, but sometime it was necessary. She hoped that it would not be the case this time, but she doubted it. None of the humans present looked like the kind that could listen to advices. The monsters, however, seemed to have sensed her magic, judging by the way their mouths opened in surprise.

“I am only saying this once. Back off.” She knew that they would not, but felt better that she at least gave them a chance.

The man and his companions laughed.

“Or else what?” one of them asked. “What can a pretty thing like you do to us?”

Cornelia stared straight into their eyes.

“Or else, you will be having a bad time.” Her voice echoed in the forest, sharp and cutting like a knife. There were no clouds in the sky, but it thundered.

The humans halted in their actions, suddenly remembering whose lands they were intruding on. They finally noticed the unnatural silence of the woods, the shadows looming over them from shapeless figures slithering between the trees. For an instant, all they could hear were the sound of their breathing and the rustling sound of leaves.

“Do you not know that it is impolite to contemplate murder on other people’s property?” She walked toward the young monsters, now frozen in shock. “I am neither a thing nor your babe.”

Cornelia loved the way magic bent to her will so easily ever since the barrier has been broken. Power now coursed through her freely, like it was meant to be. The things she struggled to achieve before are now simply child’s play. She now understood how mages in ancient times could delude themselves into thinking they were gods. Having so much power over others and even over nature itself was addicting. The protestors wanted to run, but they could not. Layers of ice have formed over their legs, holding them still. They wanted to scream, but they could not. A thick mist surrounded their noses and mouths, slowing drowning them to death.

It would be easy to kill them, the mage thought with emotional detachment. The human body was made of so much water, and coincidentally her main way of using magic was through manifestation and manipulation of water. It would be simple to disturb the blood flow in their body. Maybe in their brain. Or in their heart.

_It may even be fun._

However, she was better than this, she told herself.

Cornelia regretfully turned her attention to the injured children instead, gently lifting the yellow lizard looking monster from the ground. He was badly hurt, and she needed to bring him back to New New Home for medical attention. The young spider girl took a defensive stance as the mage approached her and her brother, her eyes widened in fear, but dared not to run.

“Go home, and think about what you were about to do.” She instructed the protestors, slowly releasing them from her magic. She would have felt better if she could put them in jail, but unfortunately that was not an option until the monsters gain rights in the eyes of the law. “Murdering children simply because they are of a different race… you should be ashamed of yourselves.”

Without waiting for the terrorized humans to scatter away, Cornelia looked at the siblings beside her and beckoned them to come closer.

“Come with me. I will go get my car and drive you home.”

A few minutes later the spider twins found themselves seated in the backseat of a minivan, their unconscious friend lying on a bed.

“I didn’t know that humans could still use magic.” Liam said in a soft voice, still trembling after his encounter with the men. His sister pressed herself against him, exhausted from the fight.

“Very few of us can.” Cornelia explained, driving as fast as she could within the speed limit. The child did not look like he would turn to dust soon, but she did not want to take the risk that he would.

“So you’re like, a mage?” Lyanne pipped up, curious. Her HP was down by half, but she would be as good as new after some monster food.

“Yes, I am.” Cornelia confirmed. She did not want to scream her identity to the monster kind, but did not felt the urge to hide her presence either. Not that she could do so now, unless she erased the children’s memory. “What are you doing so far from New New Home?”

“We were following MK.”

“MK?” She presumed that this was a nickname for the lizard boy.

“Stands for Monster Kid.” Lyanne offered.

The mage raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, that’s because the King kinda sucks at naming stuff, OK?” Liam explained, his face turning a deeper purple from embarrassment. “But since he’s the King… people just kinda followed his example. So yeah… MK’s cousin got lucky, her parents named her Alphys, but I got a friend named Snowdrake because he is a snowdrake…”

At least this explained New New Home. And she thanked heaven above that her parents at least only named her after one of their long dead relatives.

“And your name is?”

“Liam. And this is my twin sister Lyanne.”

The familiar sight of wood fences soon came into view. She parked herself as close the entrance as possible, driving through a crowd of protestors. The twins eyed the crowd warily, not wanting a repeat of the confrontation earlier, but Cornelia knew that there was nothing to fear. She walked out of the minivan, carrying MK in her arms with the young twins glued to her sides. There were some angry shots and slurs from the protestors, but none of them dared to become violent since there were still military personnel guarding the area.

The mage pushed herself in front of the entrance. The monsters guarding it approached to scold her for skipping the line, but their expression soon changed to concern as they saw the children with her.

“I found these kids in the wood and this one needs immediate medical attention.” She explained as fast as she could. “Do you have a hospital?”

“This way!” One of the guards took MK from her arms and began to rush across the city.

Cornelia followed him, almost running to keep up with his speed. It wasn’t long until they were brought to a modern looking building with the sign 'Hospital' above it. She was once again confronted by the evidence that the Monster King was terrible at naming things.

There were not many monsters in the hospital, so MK was immediately rushed to a doctor. Being human and the one who brought back the injured child, Cornelia was gently ‘asked’ to stay until someone could come take her statements. She sat in the hospital with the spider twins at her sides, anxious for their friend.

It was then she felt it, the now familiar feeling of something cold and hard grabbing her soul to drag her back.

Whomever it was that played with time was trying to RESET again.

Cornelia looked outside of the hospital’s windows. Monsters of different shapes were working together with hope in their eyes, building toward what they hoped to be a bright future. A few humans worked among them, tentatively reaching out to this fascinating new race. She touched her hair, which has grown longer since The Bathroom Day. She was not going back.

She REFUSED.

The world stood still for an instant before moving forward.

Frisk stood outside of Greenshire Fort, a cellphone in hand. The hospital has just contacted them, letting them know that MK was hurt. They shook from exhaustion and fear. There were too many variables on the surface, too many people to keep safe from unknown dangers. Frisk was reminded of the reason why they started the RESETs in the first place.

They wanted to go back. The Underground wasn’t too bad, was it? At least it was safer for the monsters… the only danger they faced was Frisk themselves.

Their lips were pressed together in annoyance toward the interference from the unknown soul. They tried to RESET again.

The Void became a battlefield between the two souls. The Master of Time against the Master of Minds.

Frisk attempted again and again to drag TIME backward by the sheer force of their will, their soul a bright red light illuminating the darkness of the Void like a bloody sunrise. They knew that their Determination was the strongest among humans. No one could stand up to them, and they were used to be play god with TIME.

But Cornelia was not alone. She knew that she could not match the Determination of the bright red soul, but not even the Master of Time could battle against the collective minds of all humans and monsters.

Frisk attempted to RESET once again.

But THEY REFUSED.

Frisk attempted to RESET again and again.

The mage pulled at her hair, the sharp pain keeping her focused. The force of the attempted RESETs flooded her like the tides of the ocean, but she stood unmoved. THEY stood unmoved.

TIME shall continue to march forward, she decreed within the Void.

And within the Void, that place of in between, her words were sovereigns to the collective minds.

TIME moved forward.

The battle in the Void went unnoticed by most as time continued to march forward, but somewhere out there, a skeleton wept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To tell the truth, the way this story is going is getting out of my control. In the beginning this was just going to be a regular Reader/Sans fic. The main character was going to help the monsters, and show off a bit with her magic. She would meet Sans and they would bound over the trauma of remembering RESETs. Mostly just slices of life with a lot of fluff. Frisk was going to be a nice kid who would help the monsters get their rights. But then Frisk just insisted on trying to RESET. They were very DETERMINED. I wonder what will happen next...


	7. Chapter 7 – In Which You Remember a Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dear Frisk, it might not have been the best idea to RESET.  
> You tried to play with TIME, but you were stopped.  
> Now you have angered both the skeleton and the mage.  
> Look at what you've done...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who got 100 kudos! (Jumping around in joy and screaming like a madwoman.)  
> You are all beautiful, beautiful souls.

Cornelia opened her eyes with a splitting headache. She was still in the hospital, and the monster twins were still anxious for their friend. An eternity seemed to have passed for her, but for the rest of the world it was as if nothing has happened.

She should not have gone complacent simply because there have not been any RESETs in the last few months, Cornelia silently reprimanded herself. The source of the anomalies in time was like a bomb waiting to explode. She had to find the owner of the red soul. And to stop them… with any mean necessary. She had her suspicions about their identity; there were very few humans involved in monsters’ affaires anyway. The problem was to get them alone.

While she was contemplating kidnapping, an armored bunny came escorting a family of purple six armed monsters. The spider twins immediately dashed toward them, muttered apologies lost in hugs and relieved tears. Cornelia smiled slightly at the scene despite the pain in her head, glad to see that her actions had at least brought happiness to some people.

With a sigh, she turned to the armored bunny.

Time to give her statements.

It was a novel experience for Cornelia, who has never given her statements to the police before. She did not know if things worked the same way for humans, but the whole process was surprisingly pleasant and short. The armored bunny was named March and was the second-in-command of the Royal Guard. He was a cheerful person, courteous and polite. However, Cornelia did notice him becoming more guarded when she mentioned that she was a mage.

The twins were eager to give their sides of the story, and by the time they were done MK also woke up. According to the doctors, his unconsciousness was simply caused by his low HP and an injury on his head. Once they have healed him with some magic, he was back to his active self and ready to give his statements.

Cornelia was amused to learn that MK’s reason for being near her house was because he was curious about her. It would seem that monsters’ children were just like human ones, unarticulated and prone to doing stupid things like visiting what’s probably their equivalent of the boogeyman alone. MK’s parents were also present by the time he was able to give his statements, and she suspected that he would be due for some scolding once he went back home.

“Well this has been fun,” she waved goodbye to the kids once the interrogation was over. “I’m going to Grillby’s.”

It was already late in the afternoon but still early enough that there were only a few clients in the pub, and for once that comedian was not present. She strolled over to the counter and smiled to the now familiar bartender.

“Hey Grillby, how are you doing?”

The fire monster nodded to her and pointed to the glasses. He would admit that he has been wary of this human at first. As an elemental, he was one of the oldest monsters in the Underground, old enough to have participated in the war. He has never had the opportunity to fight against a mage before, but he recognised one when he saw one. The faint hum of magic around her was unmistakable, even if she seemed to be actively repressing it most of the time. However, he soon realised that she was pretty harmless, just a lonely soul like any of his other regulars.

“Thanks, I’m doing well too. And no, just food’s fine, it’s too early for alcohol.” The mage replied before pausing in thought. She could just eat and go back home now, but there’s no way that she could relax and watch Lord of the Rings after all the events today. “You know what? On second thought, it’s the perfect time for a drink. Anything I haven’t tried yet?”

It turned out that Grillby still had new tricks up his sleeves after all this time. It was not something he had on the menu, but the fire monster enjoyed experimenting with mixing and he loved to see the mage’s wonder at his endless concoctions. He grabbed various bottles from the display on the back, and started to alternate between mixing and shaking, and even setting the concoction on fire at different stages. Finally he placed the sparkling purple mixture in front of the mage with a flourish. It smelled like freshness and sunshine, and tasted like a refreshing jump in the pool on a sunny day.

Cornelia picked up the drink with a grin and made her way to one of the booths. It was strange to see the pub so empty and quiet, she thought while sipping at the cocktail.

As she ate her meal the pub began to fill. Some dog monsters came in first, their speech a mixture of human words with barks. Then came a group of humans, attracted by the smell of food like Cornelia was many weeks ago. Then more monsters walked into the place, most of them regulars that the mage now recognised. Some of them recognised her too, and waved at her as they took seat. At some point that funny skeleton guy showed up, and the room was soon filled with cheers and laughter.

A dark mood suddenly hit her as she watched the skeleton surrounded by his usual audience. She has never cared about being the center of attention, but there was something discouraging about not being contacted by her friends more than a few times per year, except for when they needed her help. Being a mage and the only heir to the Preston family, Cornelia has never been able to make many true friends. And the few she had, she was losing. Some of them simply distanced themselves over time, intimidated by her wealth or her magic. Some of them became insincere, as they slowly began to consider her more and more as a useful connection instead of a friend. Some of them simply slipped away due to time and distance.

It was probably because she was a boring person, the mage thought. She was brilliant academically, but terribly boring as a human being. No wonder no one wanted to hang out with her, even she was bored by herself. Truly she envied the skeleton’s ability to socialise the way he did. He was always laughing and surrounded by friends.

Was he ever lonely, she wondered?

Cornelia looked over again, and saw that he seemed particularly determined to get wasted today. He told jokes and puns, he sang songs with his friends, he entertained the crowd with his endless supply of funny tales. All the while he grinned that lazy grin of his and drank straight from the bottles, and she could feel the wrongness inside of him. He was so sad, all the time. Simply brushing the surface of it made her want to cry.

She felt he was lonelier than she was.

As the effect of alcohol faded away, the mage sighed and stood up, a determined look on her face. There was no time for this self-pity business, and truth to be told, she was already luckier than most. She was born healthy into a loving and wealthy family, with genius level IQ. She had a strong soul made stronger by RESETs, and an immeasurable amount of magic. If there was a God, then he must love her a lot. Sure she was not the most beautiful girl in the world and was socially awkward enough to have close to no friends, but that was not important.

What was important was that the universe has been stuck in a time loop for since forever and it was time for her to do something. For all she knew, she may be the only one with the power to do so because no one else was aware of the RESETs.

Today’s attempt has reminded her that the peace she had, any accomplishment she made, nothing was permanent. A child was Master of Time, and all of them relied on their good will for TIME to march forward.

She remembered the promise of a _bad time_.

The mage pushed open the doors of the pub and left the comfort of Grillby’s.

It was dark outside. There were not many streetlamps yet, since the monster city was still under construction, and she had to use the flashlight on her phone. The wind was cold, its smell humid with the promises of rain. Summer was ending.

She could not remember winter anymore.

The mage took a deep breath and decided that it was time to act on that promise.

She was a woman of her words after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would just like to mention that although I do not own Undertale nor any of the game characters, the plot for this story does come from my head. If anyone is inspired to write after reading this story, you are welcome to do so. Let me know, I might even cry a bit.  
> 


	8. Chapter 8 – In Which You Meet the King

Cornelia’s first plan in finding that kid was naturally to visit their uncle, her friend Gregory Smith. He was Frisk’s legal guardian, and so she assumed that the kid lived with him.

Despite wanting nothing more than to get her hands on the child and shake some sense into them, Cornelia was not unreasonable. The RESETs may not be voluntary after all. She could remember that she herself had experienced embarrassing cases of accidental magic when she was a child. Her mother made sure to tell her all about them. Or there may even be a good reason to the RESETs. Maybe one of their friends died or something. Maybe they only needed help and guidance.

Cornelia hoped that the jumps in time were involuntary or happened for a good reason. Because if it was all due to some impulsive decisions from a whimsical child… Then, she may have to dirty her hands.

She had the tendency to assume the worst but hope for the best.

Regardless of the reason behind the RESETs, the mage preferred to deal with the situation as discreetly as possible. Should the child be truly evil, she would rather not scare them into attempting a RESET again.

Greg lived in the downtown of Ebott City, in one of those ridiculously tall residential towers. Cornelia personally favoured buildings that were easier to evacuate from in the absence of elevator, but she was wise enough to not voice her opinion out loud. Aside from the security risks, the apartment did look wonderful inside, even if the view outside was unsatisfactory.

Her disappointment may have been a little bit too obvious, for Greg seemed amused by the expression on her face.

“What? Not everyone can live in a freaking manor!” He mockingly glared at her. “The only people who have a great view in downtown are those living on the 20th floor and above, and I don’t have that kind of money. Any lower than that and you will only get to stare at the other buildings across the street. Or their dirty roofs. Or the weird neighbours.”

Like what they saw right now.

Being in the middle of the city and unfortunately on the ninth floor, the only view Greg had was the residential building across the street. An old man was lounged half naked on a chair on the balcony in their direct line of view, unashamed of showing off his lack of muscles and generous amount of fat.

“Well, you know me. Of course I expected something much grander when I saw the address.” Cornelia turned her eyes away, putting on her most arrogant face and using her most pretentious voice. “You know, like a penthouse. Not something so… plebeian.”

She looked again at the balcony across, and saw the old man waving at her. She waved back automatically, before backing away from the window.

“He’s not so bad. Just likes to sunbath in the summer.” Greg chuckled. “The worst one is that girl on the tenth floor. She likes to have one night stands on her balcony.”

The face she made must have been really weird because her friend threw his head back and laughed.

“You haven’t changed at all.” He said with a warm smile once he finally calmed down. And this was true physically as well. While he was growing older every day, Cornelia still looked not a day older than twenty.

“Don’t speak like an old man, Greg, you are not even thirty yet.” She chided. “So, I heard that you finally got a girlfriend. How is it going?”

While Greg talked animatedly about this new girl, Cornelia took the time to observe her childhood friend. He had not change much since the last time they saw each other, was still tall and gangly, but she could see the start of wrinkles near his eyes. That beard was definitely new too. It looked terrible on him, she decided, but did not comment.

Greg soon noticed her listening to him quietly with an indulgent smile, and decided to tease her a little.

“What about you, Cora? Any new guy in your life that I gotta meet?” He asked with a wink.

“Nope.” The mage made herself comfortable on the sofa. She had missed this, just lazing around chatting with her best friend. “You will be the first to know if I do have one though.”

Thinking about it, it has been a long time since she had a boyfriend. She was too much of a recluse, and even when she went out it was hard for her to be romantically attracted by people.

“Just make sure it happens in my lifetime.” Greg said jokingly, but she could see the seriousness in his eyes. Being her closest friend, the mayor was well aware of the longevity of mages, especially in the absence of the barrier. He would grow old and die in this century unless some extraordinary breakthrough in medical science, but Cornelia will probably still look the same at his funeral.

“Will try.” She promised. “By the way, when do I get to meet the kid?”

Greg scratched his head sheepishly. It was always awkward when people asked him this question.

“Ah, about that… Frisk's kinda living with the monsters’ king and queen.”

Cornelia raised an eyebrow at this and sighed inwardly. It would be harder to get to them then. She felt the urge to share her suspicions with her friend and to ask for his help outright, but she knew that Greg would likely not believe her. And even if he did, he was still Frisk’s uncle. There was no guarantee that he would take her side in this affair.

“I thought they were just the monster’s ambassador.”

“They are, but they have also been unofficially adopted by the royalties.” The mayor was not sure how to feel about this exactly. On one hand, he did not have the time and patience to raise a child at this time, and Frisk was happy living with their new family. On the other hand, he felt as though he was deemed an incompetent guardian by his sister’s kid.

What would his sister think of him?

Cornelia was a bit disappointed that she could not deal with the source of the RESETs immediately, but her mind quickly conjured a few other ways to meet the kid. One of the easiest would be to get involved in the monsters’ affair. The monsters would be forced to accept her aid since she was the Archmage, and Frisk, as the ambassador, would be naturally forced to interact with her at some point.

She was however reluctant to be the one to initiate interactions between mages and monsters.

Greg soon changed the subject of their conversation to something completely unrelated, and Cornelia let him. She was determined to enjoy this rare moment of relaxation with her friend, even if the reason of her visit was not so pure. She could always find another way to approach the kid.

It was, of course, unexpected, that the opportunity arose by itself.

Early in the morning on the next day, the mage was awoken by a phone call. She was still under her cover at that time, and naturally tried to ignore the phone. But Greg was persistent, and he knew she was home.

Curse Perseverant souls.

“I am so, so sorry.” was the first thing he said.

Cornelia frowned, a million things running through her head at once.

“What happened? Is everything alright?” she asked, rolling out of her bed. Has something bad happened? To whom? Her family? She was her own family. Her friends? She did not have that many friends, and none of her other friends were also friend with Greg.

So it must have been something Greg did.

“Cora, I’m so sorry!” Greg kept apologising. It was annoying.

Early mornings have always been the hardest part of her day, and today especially since she had worked hard on her current project the night before. She had not slept enough to deal with the task of calming her easily emotional friend, and could not stop herself from snapping at him.

“Calm down and just get to the point!”

She heard the mayor take a deep breath on the other side of the line.

“The king wants to meet with you.” 

The mage frowned.

“What? Which king?”

“The monster king.” Her friend said nervously.

Oh. Cornelia relaxed back onto her bed.

“Explain.” Her voice was flat, as if she was unhappy with this development, when she was anything but. However, she occasionally enjoyed making her friend’s life difficult.

“The other day Asgore called because he wanted to meet you and thank you, so I thought he got wind that the castle belonged to you and I spilled the beans. Turned out in the end that he just wanted to thank you for saving a couple of kids. I’m so sorry!”

One of Greg’s greatest weaknesses was that whenever he was given instruction to keep something secret, it was guaranteed that he would end up blurting it out sooner or later. She should have expected this to happen.

If it was not for the problem of anomalies in time, Cornelia would probably try to avoid meeting the king for at least a decade. However, with the kid being ambassador to the monsters and adoptive child to the king and queen, this was exactly the opportunity she wished for.

“When does the king have the time?” She asked.

It turned out that both Cornelia and the king had the next day’s afternoon free, which is why she found herself waiting in line at New New Home. She stood out among the crowd, dressed smartly in her perfectly tailored suit. A guard escorted her to the Greenshire Fort immediately upon seeing her identifications. She tried to make light conversations, but the guard was too intimidated by her to properly respond.

The king himself was waiting for her at the castle’s entrance, surrounded by guards. The large goat looking monster had two curving horns on his head, and a golden blond mane and beard. And he was tall. So tall. Cornelia was not short by human standard, but the king overshadowed her by at least half a meter. Luckily the castle had very high ceilings, or else him living there would be very uncomfortable.

“Welcome, Archmage Preston, mage of all mages.” He greeted her in a gravelly voice, which sounded surprisingly kind, just like the expression on his face. The mage could however feel the hesitancy and caution in his soul, and she tried harder at repressing her magic.

No peeking today. She did not want to use her magic around the monsters at all if possible. According to her researches, some of the monster lived very long lives, so they may have coexisted with her ancestors many centuries ago. She did not wish to trigger a flashback for any war veteran when she was trying to be on good terms with the monsters royalties.

“Greetings King Dreemurr, ruler of all Monsters.” She replied in kind, amused by his use of the old custom. She would not have known how to reply to him if it were not for the stories told by her grandfather. She offered her hand for him to shake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The king chuckled and had to lower himself slightly to shake her hand. The mage couldn’t help but smile at how warm and fluffy his paw was. Although the king’s facial features and horns reminded her of a goat, his paw made her think of a giant teddy bear.

“Please just call me Asgore. Would you like a cup of tea?” The king offered with less formality, walking her into the castle.

“I would never say no to a cup of tea.”

Cornelia followed the king and saw that the halls were empty; however she could feel the curiosity emanating from the souls hidden behind closed doors. She remembered that the king has given the castle as a temporary residence for monsters with children while the city was in construction. She was glad that the abandoned fort was finally put to good use.

Their destination was a meeting room of a sort, and the guards left them as they entered the room, which was already filled with monsters sitting around a table. The chairs on both extremities were empty, one waiting for the king and one for the mage.

Another goat looking monster was seated on the left of what should be Asgore’s seat. She was most likely the queen, and she was also extremely tall and regal looking. The chairs looked toy like in comparison to her stature, and Cornelia wondered if she was uncomfortable. Her dark eyes were gentle, and her face kind. She was seated beside a turtle like monster, one that was obviously very old. He had olive green skin and a pointed beard, and greeted her with a crooked smile. There seemed to be something wrong with one of his eye, which remained closed at all time.

Facing the queen was a bluish piscine woman with fins on the sides of her head. She smiled menacingly at Cornelia, a look of challenge in her eyes, showing sharp protruding teeth. Without a nose and with a face full of barely noticeable scales, she strangely reminded Cornelia of Voldemort. A prettier and fishier version of Voldemort.

And finally… a familiar face. Seated beside the fish monster was that short skeleton monster who almost lived a Grillby’s.

This was… unexpected.

He looked relaxed, unnaturally so, and greeted her with a lazy wave of his hand, obviously recognising her as well.

Presentations were made, and hands shaken. The female goat monster was indeed the queen, and insisted to be called Toriel. Gerson, the turtle, was apparently so old that he was pre-war. The piscine woman, Undyne, was Captain of the Royal Guard. She was clearly there to act as some kind of protection, since she would make an awful ambassador. The reason for which Sans the skeleton was there remained unclear. The King obviously trusted him and presented him as some sort of consultant, but Undyne looked dismissive of his presence.

She could easily see that everyone dressed up for today’s meeting. The king, the queen, and the turtle looking monster were all clothed in traditional robes, while the fish lady and the skeleton were more business casual and modern in attire.

Eventually Cornelia was seated opposing the king, between Sans and Gerson.

And so the meeting began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, so glad to be back!  
> I have edited this chapter so many times... I still feel as though Greg is taking too much place and the transition is kinda awkward, but... I gave up. Will maybe come back and edit it in the future.  
> By the way, the naked neighbours across the street thing is inspired by a real life story. Lets just say that my friend did not feel good about what they saw.


	9. Chapter 9 - The meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * This is a meeting. An encounter.  
> * What should you do?  
> * FIGHT - * ACT - * ITEM - * MERCY  
> * You show them the colour of your soul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure how notifications work... so just for your information, chapter 8 has been replaced by an actual chapter.

“Archmage Preston…” The king was the first to speak. The rest of the monsters were silent for the moment, but Cornelia could feel them not so secretly judging her. The queen and Gerson do not seem to have established an opinion of her yet, but that Undyne person was clearly mistrustful about her. Sans just sat there with lidded orbits, as if he would fall asleep any moment, but his soul told her that he was very much alert.

Oh right, no peeking.

This was harder than she expected. Although she knew how to avoid listening to people’s thoughts, she has never been able to completely stop sensing other people’s feeling, especially when they were directed toward her.

“Please just call me Cora, Asgore.” The mage insisted with a smile, not showing how uncomfortable she truly was with their attention.

“Of course, Cora” Acquiesced the king. “As you may already know, the reason for the invitation today was because we wanted to thank you. I hope you would forgive us for the rudeness of asking you to come over, especially on such short notice. I would have gone to visit you myself to offer my thanks, but it was deemed unsafe for me to leave the perimeter of NNH.”

“There is nothing to forgive and you are very welcome.” Cornelia said cautiously. She felt that there was an upcoming ‘but’ to his speech.

She was proven right as the king continued to speak.

“You have been nothing but kind to us ever since we came to the surface. According to the mayor, you have not only offered us shelter, but also food and supplies. You have even helped our children last week, protecting them from harm. For all of your kindness, we will be forever grateful. However…” Asgore hesitated for a moment. “Given the history between us, you must understand that we are somewhat wary about your intentions.”

Cornelia was not surprised at all by how the monsters felt about her. She was, however, surprised by their honesty. It was refreshing to be able to get to the point directly instead of turning around the bush for hours.

She took the time to find the right words to express herself.

“I understand perfectly. Still, you should know that I am not my ancestors. The war happened such a long time ago that the truth about its origin is now lost. Maybe we were good,” Undyne visibly seethed at this. Gerson smiled sadly. “Maybe we were bad. I do not care either way. I only know that both sides suffered heavily from the war until now, and I do not want to perpetuate this animosity anymore.”

Toriel’s eyes softened by the end of her speech, but Undyne clenched her fists in an effort to stay seated, glaring at the mage with her only good eye.

“What do you mean by ‘both sides suffering heavily until now’?” exclaimed the Captain of the Royal Guard. Her outburst was clearly unplanned, judging by the surprise in the souls of everyone present. “We were trapped in the underground with limited resources and no hope of getting out, while you continued to live above! I don’t see how _your_ side suffered!”

“I do agree that the human race has suffered less in general.” Cornelia said in a soothing tone, hoping to calm the fish woman. “But it does not mean that we did not pay a price for winning the war.”

“And what is this price?” Asked the king, curious.

Cornelia took a deep breath. Her grandmother’s suffering face flashed before her eyes. Her grandfather, choosing to just… let go. How she was relieved about her parents dying before truly starting to suffer from the full effect of the curse. The time she spent in her lab, trying to find a way to break the barrier.

“The extinction of mages.”

The answer surprised the monsters.

“Mages have always been rare among humans.” Cornelia continued. “A long time ago, before the war, there were maybe one mage per ten thousand non-magical humans. Nowadays, we are almost extinct. Some may even say that magic does not exist.”

The old turtle looking monster mumbled under his breath. The king and queen shook their heads in disbelief. It was hard for monsters, whom are mostly made of magic, to understand how people could believe that magic did not exist.

“It is true that we haven’t seen a human with magic ever since coming out of the Underground.” Toriel said softly. “I thought… that they were simply being considerate. But why?”

“Because there is no such thing as an everlasting magic spell. Do you know how the barrier was built?” Cornelia asked.

“The theory was that seven of your strongest mages died to construct the barrier with their souls.” Asgore answered her. Based on the expression on his face, this topic was source of many bad memories for him.

“You are correct.” The mage nodded. “But have you ever wondered where it gets its magic from?” 

“No. Please enlighten us.”

This was clearly a subject of interest for the monsters. Although the barrier was now destroyed, who knew if another would be put in place by the humans later? If the mage had no qualm with sharing exactly how the barrier worked, then they were all ears.

And Cornelia felt no need to hide how the barrier was made. She had published enough on the subject that a quick search on the internet would enlighten the monsters anyway.

“Souls are fragile things, as you all know. A human soul would be a little more resilient compared to a monster’s, but even the most Determined soul cannot persist forever after the death of the body. Therefore, the barrier required a source of magic to sustain the souls it was composed of. The seven mages that died to seal you underground, they tied the barrier to the magic of all mages and their descendants, which means that as long as you are born a mage, the barrier will reach out and steal magic from you.”

Surprisingly, it was Sans who interrupted her.

“but it’s theorized that the magic used by mages worked kinda like monsters’.” a look of understanding flashed on the skeleton’s face. “i s'pose the mages didn’t do so well with magic constantly being taken from their souls.”

“You are correct.” Cornelia nodded. “Our ancestors did not think about the consequence of their actions at that time. In their days mages used to live long lives, just like monsters, and could perform miracles. But now, there are only about two thousands mages in the entire world. If the barrier is still in place, most would die before reaching a hundred, and cannot even use the smallest of magic. So let me tell you this...” She became serious. “If things go badly, the humans wouldn’t be able to create another barrier. We do not have enough mages nowadays. If things go badly, the only outcome would be war. It would not end well on either side. No one wants that.”

The king and queen looked at each other, as if they were communicating telepathically. 

“But how can we trust that any of what you’ve said is true?” Asked Undyne with a frown. “How can we trust someone who wouldn’t even show their soul?!”

“I am hiding my soul?” Cornelia was surprised. She frowned at her chest, looking at the place where her soul was supposed to be. According to her studies, a person’s soul was very important in monster culture. They looked at other’s soul for basic information about the other person, and couples married each other by sharing their souls. Hiding her soul would be the equivalent of hiding her face, which was kind of rude… “Oh.”

She may know why her soul was hidden.

“I’m sorry,” the mage apologised to the fish woman’s surprise. “I didn’t realise I was doing it… ever since the barrier was broken my magic has become stronger, and I’m not able to control it very well yet so I just suppressed it completely when I came here. I… can just let go of my magic if you want to see my soul?”

“Please,” asked the king, who was also curious about her soul.

Cornelia took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and let go.

Her magic flayed up around her like invisible gusts of wind before dying down, and the air crackled a moment due to the release of energy. The room was suddenly chiller and full of moisture, like the temperature on a rainy day.

She opened her eyes, and she could _see_.

In the chest of each monster there was a bright white soul in the shape of an inverted heart, surrounded by a pale halo of light visible only to her eyes.

The one closest to her right belonged to the turtle monster, an ancient soul with a yellow halo. Gerson’s stats were very good despite how fragile his physical appearance was, and his LV was higher than she has expected.

* Gerson 50 ATK 90 DEF  
* LV 9 – HP 5,600/5,600  
* The Hammer of Justice. Too old to remember his own age.

Ignoring the monsters’ reaction to her own dark blue soul, Cornelia took the opportunity to spy on the royal couple.

* Toriel 80 ATK 80 DEF  
* LV 1 – HP 440/440  
* The Queen of all monsters.

* Asgore 80 ATK 80 DEF  
* LV 5 – HP 3,500/3,500  
* The King of all monsters.

Their stats were similar to each other, but Asgore’s kill count was much higher. Unsurprisingly, Toriel’s soul had a green halo, while Asgore’s was purple. Cornelia then turned her attention to the fish woman, who had a sparkling white soul with a yellow halo as bright as the sun.

* Undyne 50 ATK 20 DEF  
* LV 3 – HP 1,500/1,500  
* Very suspicious of you.

How predictable.

The corner of her mouth curled up in amusement. Undyne was clearly a very honest individual judging by the message projected by her soul. While the king, the queen, and the Hammer of Justice hid behind their titles, Undyne was not afraid of showing what she really thought to the world.

Finally she turned to look at Sans.

She had to stop herself from showing her surprise.

* Sans ~~5 ATK 2 DEF~~ 1 ATK 1 DEF  
* ~~LV 20 – HP 11/1~~ LV 4 – HP 11/1  
* REDACT

The skeleton monster’s soul was the most fragile soul she had ever seen. It was almost entirely covered with tiny cracks and had a greyish tint, as if Sans was close to fallen down. A bright cyan halo surrounded it, the colour of patience. And the stats? How could he have two sets of stats? Cornelia wondered. Why redacted? What did it mean?

While the rest of the monsters spoke with each other about Cornelia’s soul, Sans was also frozen in surprise.

* Cornelia 999 ATK 300 DEF  
* LV 1 – HP 45,000/45,000  
* The Archmage. Strongest magician of this age.  
* The thought of fighting her fills you with despair.  
* Has won once against the Master of Time.


End file.
